The Process Ninja

Free Steve Towers Podcast - Outside-In Thinking: The Ticket to Achieving a Successful Customer Outcome

You can access it here!

Lean six sigma group on linkedin goes feral!

Apologies folks it's been a while and yes I am still working on the post for outside in part 3. In the meantime have a look at the lean six sigma group on linkedin. World process guru Steve Towers posted a link to my post on the death of lean six sigma on the discussions there (thanks Steve...I think!) and fireworks predictably ensued!!! Whether you are interested in Lean, Six sigma or Outside in the discussion is with having a look at - particularly if you want to see the process ninja bring verbally attacked and beaten up!

They can hurt me but they won't win!

- TPN

Outside-in Part 1 - The Process Revolution Starts Here

Six Sigma and Lean's bodies lie smouldering and decomposing in the ashes of the 20th century. A revolution is upon us. Some are wise enough to have seen it coming, some have only recently found it and the others, well, they'll soon adapt or die.

What I am talking about is an approach that is so radically different from the ways that we have traditionally approached process improvement that it forces you to totally alter your current mindset. It is an approach that is the secret weapon of some of the world's greatest companies such as Google, Apple and Virgin.

It's called Outside-in.

On paper outside-in sounds like a "no brainer" - it's about looking at process from the customer's experience. I'm sure you think you already do that, but if you aren't using outside-in already I can categorically tell you that you aren't. Outside-in uses a method to systematically look at the customer's experience from end to end, rather than looking at improving the customer's experience by altering internal processses - this is inside-out thinking. Whereas inside-out thinking puts a bandage on the effect, it doesn't eliminate the cause - the wound still bleeds.

As organisations we have become crippled by our internal processes. We've become so entwined in what we do day to day we've forgotten why we exist - to serve our customer - to give them what they need, to give them what they want and sometimes to give them what they don't know they need yet! The customer is our reason for being, without them we cease to exist, yet through our bureaucracy and our bulk we become a bloated beast of burden - unable to move rapidly to meet the needs of the lightning fast pace of life around us. In the end, we sink and die whilst the nimble climb higher and higher.

When we use Outside-in to optimise process we achieve three things simultaneously - We reduce costs, improve the customer experience and as a result improve revenue. This we call "the triple crown".

Sounds to good to be true? Well, it's not. And here's why:

• Whilst Marks and Spencer flounder in the UK, Zara are achieving world domination
• Whilst Delta and United airlines are dying in the states, Southwestern airlines is flourishing
• Whilst Best Buy expand, their major competitors have gone bust
• Whilst Nokia try to sell outdated phones Apple kill the market with the iPhone
• Tesco has surged to be the no1 supermarket in the UK, now bidding to buy the former no 1
• Ryanair become the most profitable airline in Europe whilst BA implode
• Whilst british banks go bust, bank Santander is posting huge profits

What do these victors have in common? They all use Outside-in to achieve the "triple crown".

So, do you think Lean and Six Sigma will help you to achieve all that? Thought not.

Welcome to the revolution.

- TPN

Obituary: Lean, Six Sigma

Today the BPM community was saddened to hear of the loss of it's two favourite sons, Lean & Six Sigma.

Lean, who's ailing father Toyota will no doubt be deeply distressed by the news must surely be shocked by his son's sudden decline after several healthy years at the helm. Six Sigma's father Motorola may have seen the end coming for some time after his son was seen to be unable to keep up with the demands of the modern business world.

Both will be remembered fondly by bankers and software providers, who enjoyed many years of revenue generation and endless training courses in partnership with these captains of industry. Others, however, described them as being monolothic dinosaurs lumbering out of the conveyor belt mentality of the industrial revolution.

Whatever your opinion they did their best and achieved some success in what they set out to do. For a while they were the kings of all they surveyed; but times change and in the lightning fast pace of today's world they simply couldn't keep up. Their time has been and gone.

The kings are dead, long live the king...

Is Six Sigma the answer?

Is Six Sigma the Holy Grail or is it "Holy Sheet Senior!"?